Category: Snakes

Nerodia taxispilota, the Brown watersnake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). When it comes to peninsula Florida’s three most-dominant inland watersnake species, I was three-for-three on this one particular night in Miami-Dade county. In addition to the Florida banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) and…

Nerodia floridana, the Florida green watersnake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). Following up on our last post, here’s the second of two sub-adult Florida green watersnakes I found adjacent to one another on a lonely south Florida roadway well after the sun had…

Nerodia floridana, the Florida green watersnake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). This youngster was one of two sub-adult Florida green watersnakes I came across laying next to each other on the side of a road in south Florida. Both appeared quite healthy. Both…

Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, the Florda banded watersnake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). Not all snakes you find on Florida’s nighttime roads have fallen victim to vehicular mayhem. Thankfully. I came across this young (non-venomous) Florida banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) chilling near the…

Pantherophis guttatus, the Red rat (corn) snake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). An unfortunate and sadly unavoidable byproduct of spending so much time looking for snakes while trolling Florida’s roadways after the sun sets is that you inevitably come across snake after snake…

Pantherophis alleghaniensis, the Eastern rat snake; Miami-Dade county, Florida (10 November 2018). This past weekend, I slipped down to south Florida for a romp through the tangles and flats of the Everglades system — working my way through Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National…

Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, the Florida banded watersnake; Collier county, Florida (20 March 2015). We’ve seen a few Florida banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) on Floridensis thus far, but the individual featured here remains one of my favorites. As noted before on this blog, the Florida…

Opheodrys aestivus, the Rough green snake; Lowndes county, Georgia (13 May 2013). It’s been far too long since I’ve seen a wild Rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus). In fact, this individual was the last one — and that was back in May of 2013….

Liodytes alleni, the Striped crayfish snake; Brevard county, Florida (08 February 2015). The Striped crayfish snake, Liodytes alleni (previously and alternatively classified as Regina alleni), is a slick and reclusive little serpent. Averaging around a foot and a half in length as adults, this species spends…

Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, the Eastern garter snake; Volusia county, Florida (04 January 2015). Ranging across North America from the Atlantic west to the Pacific, Thamnophis sirtalis is one durable and adaptable species. In Florida, our recognized subspecies is Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, the Eastern garter…

Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, the Florida banded watersnake; Alachua county, Florida (15 September 2018). Watersnake populations tend to come and go with time. An area thick with them can dry up rather suddenly because of any number of environmental factors: pollution, water level, loss of prey,…

Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, the Florida banded watersnake; Alachua county, Florida (15 September 2018). As the title might suggest (especially in the wake of the prior ribbon snake posts), my little herping group also managed to find a couple of Florida banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) in Alachua…

Welcome to Floridensis, the photographic playground of Janson Jones. A native to Volusia county, Florida, I spend much of my free time studying and photographing the natural world around me -- especially the tangled biodiversity of peninsular Florida. Floridensis is a photographic celebration of that biodiversity.